Late Night Snack
by ImagineCalypso
Summary: The title says it all. ;) One shot.


**Late Night Snack**

Disclaimer: Not mine, Thank goodness.

A/N: Fluff that takes place after "Wrapped Up in Death." In this universe, she's still staying at Castle's loft. Not betaed.

* * *

Castle sat in his office, trying to write, but nothing would come of it. Half a sentence, deleted, maybe a paragraph typed, before he highlighted the whole thing and erased it all. He laid back in his chair, head cradled in his hands, noticing the squeak, again, as the chair leaned with his weight; a reminder of how many times he'd meant to oil the joint, but always became distracted.

His thoughts wandered to the past few days, being "cursed," and what he had to endure to remove said curse. It sent a shiver down his spine. But then, not all of it was a curse. Beckett and several others at the 12th had pulled a few pranks on him, and had they happened at any other time, he would have considered them brilliant.

Well, they were brilliant. Absolutely. Castle-grade practical jokes. Maybe he should get her back... Yeah, one day, not soon, because she may see it coming. It would be easy, with Beckett being here for the time being, but yeah, it would have to wait.

On the other hand, he had every opportunity to ask her out. Wouldn't that be nice? He enjoyed their friendship, and from time-to-time, it seemed there was the possibility of something more.

"Castle? Is everything okay?"

He jumped and almost screamed, which really wouldn't have been attractive. At all. "Oh! Hi, yeah, I'm - I'm okay, great, actually. How are you?"

She smiled as she took a seat on the couch, curling her feet under her. "I'm fine. Why are you up so late?"

"After the last couple of days we've had? I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd try to write." He checked his watch. It was half past midnight. "Oh wow, I didn't realize how late it is. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I couldn't sleep, either." She shifted a little, glanced at him shyly through her lashes. "I was on my way to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat... do you want anything?"

He got to his feet and stretched, his stiff back crackled and popped as he did so. "That sounds great. I know it's late, but I could make a pot of coffee, if you want."

"That sounds wonderful."

They walked into the kitchen, and he turned to Beckett, "Hey, why don't you have a seat, and I'll take care of this. I've got the perfect midnight snack idea."

She looked a little concerned, but agreed, "Okay, but I'm not trying another smorelette this late at night."

The corner of his lip tugged upward in a crooked smile, as he said, "Oh, come on, Beckett, there are so many more layers to me." He leaned toward her, almost into her personal space, and whispered, "I know you've been perusing the ice cream collection in the freezer over the past few days." He stepped back, to gather bowls and spoons, "I'm going to make you the best ice cream sundae. Ever."

"Just make one," she said, "We can share."

He thought his heart might stop. "Wh-what? You want to share?"

Beckett rolled her eyes at him and answered, "Why not? It'll take less time to make, will dirty less dishes. Besides, it's not like we're making a committment."

"Oh, I don't know, Beckett, ice cream is a Very. Serious. Thing. In this house." Castle studied the rows of cartons, then picked out two. As he started piling mountain-sized scoops into a single bowl, he added, "Rocky Road or Chunky Monkey?"

"Um... That's not what you have out?"

"I know, but I need to know. Which one do you like best?"

"Is there really a choice?" She asked, "I like them both, but if you're trying to find my favorite, I like strawberry."

Castle stopped, almost dropping the scoop in the process. "I... I... I like your answer." Those three words almost fell out of his mouth, unbidden. He grabbed the can of whipped topping out of the refrigerator and other toppings from one of the overhead cabinets. As he sprayed a huge dollop ontop of the ice cream, he continued, "What else would you like? I have rainbow sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, nuts, and cherries."

"Rainbow sprinkles and cherries. No nuts. One in the loft is more than enough."

"You injure me, Detective, you really do. Just for that..." he ate the cherry he was about to place on top of the sundae.

"That's okay," she leaned over and grabbed the jar of cherries. "I'll get my own."

"Fair enough," he replied through his amusement. Castle set the bowl and two spoons down before taking a seat beside her.

Beckett took a bite of the sundae and smiled as she gently bumped her shoulder against his. He returned the smile. It was only a midnight snack, but he could get used to this.


End file.
